


A Life Interrupted

by The_Knightmare



Category: Bob's Burgers (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 04:12:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14464746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Knightmare/pseuds/The_Knightmare
Summary: Louise likes having her family and friends around all the time. They're annoying and strange, but she wouldn't change it for the world. When her siblings begin to get their soulmarks, Louise thinks everything is okay. Until a certain friend gets his mark.





	A Life Interrupted

   It didn’t always happen how you wanted it. Sometimes your soulmate came into your life early, sometimes late, but always when both were ready and not a second more. Images changing to give clues as to where, when, or who your soulmate was always led to the permanent mark that faded into familiarity. Like with many things, some people embraced their marks and waited for the day they could find their match. Others pushed it away, whether they didn’t believe in soulmates or just weren’t ready.

 

   Louise was one of these others. Like most children, she didn’t think to much about it. She didn’t have a mark, so why should she bother wondering? Louise preferred to make trouble and find mischief than romance. Schemes as elaborate as the ones she watched on T.V. were her favourites, and she loved when everything came together. Even when people around her began to show off their marks, Louise continued to scoff and roll her eyes. And she continued until she was fourteen and watching her older sister frantically pace around the house demanding to borrow the car.

 

“But what if my soulmate is all alone in the hospital and is waiting for me to show up? What if it’s one of those things where you need a transplant from your soulmate? What if my soulmate is going to die!” While it was three in the morning, Tina’s voice was getting progressively louder.

 

   Louise had been reading, something only done at night to keep up her carefully conserved appearance, when she heard Tina’s voice through the walls. She had opened her door to check out the latest bit of crazy her family offered to find Gene doing the same thing. That had been a half hour ago, and now they were all in the living room, passing a cheese plate between each other as Tina continued to pace.

  

“Oh sweetie, I’m sure everything’s alright. If your soulmate was dying you’d know. Right, Bobby?” Their mom had been trying to convince Tina to visit in the morning for fifteen minutes. Their dad was dozing on the couch.

 

“What? Oh, right. Your mother’s right, Tina. People always know when their soulmate is dying. Everything is fine, and visiting hours aren’t for-”

 

“Another six hours. I know, you keep saying that. But what good am I just waiting around here? No good that’s what!” Tina began breathing erratically, tears fogging her glasses. Gene squeezed her hand next to her, and she squeezed back. Despite the pranks and jabs over the years, it was never good to see their sister upset.

“Don’t you specialize in this kind of scenario, Tina? One lover confessing while the other is unconscious.” Louise tried to make her voice as casually sarcastic as she could, “Why don’t you write some of that lovey-dovey crap and read it in the hospital when you find them?”

 

“Like Cinderella looking for her comatose Prince Charming!” Gene added, eating the last of the cheese.

 

“I can do that.” Tina said quietly. She looked worn out, eyes red and limbs quivering.

 

“Just so long as we can go back to bed. Saturday is busy for us, and I don’t want to have to make Zeke do all your work because you slept in.” It came out more as a mumble from their father then anything stern, but Louise didn’t argue. She’d take her shift in the restaurant over her stupid homework any day.

 

“Alright, kids, back to bed. Tina, you can visit in the morning, Gene and Louise regular schedules.” Louise followed their mother’s swinging arms, too tired to protest or cause any more chaos. She could hear Tina in her room, writing out some epic depiction of her love for someone she didn’t even know and rolled her eyes. Her sister was always a romantic, nothing would ever change that.

Just before she fell asleep, Louise promised herself that whenever her mark appeared, she wouldn’t get this worked up. And to make whoever made her sister cry pay.

 

****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****   

        

    The time to get up came early. Only Tina seemed awake enough to function. Louise used the sleepy fog to her advantage, pouring a cup of coffee before her parents could say no.

 

“Okay, I go to the hospital and check out the patients. I’ll know who. Then confess my undying love, which will make my soulmate feel miraculously better, and we’ll live happily ever after.” Tina said, resuming her pacing from last night.

 

“After you complete school. I want you be able to get a job and live comfortably.” Mom said, coming into the kitchen, “speaking of jobs, Bobby, Zeke’s not going to be coming in for a few days.”

 

“What! First you and Tina, now Zeke? It’s Saturday, in June, students make the lunch an actual rush.” Said their Dad, now fully awake.

 

“Well, you have Gene and me.” Louise sipped her coffee, watching her family move about the kitchen. Occasionally spooning some cereal into her mouth.

 

“Yeah! We can do things too Dad!” Gene bellowed. Louise pulled her pink ears down to cover her real ears.

 

“See, they’ll just do our jobs while we’re gone. Mom are you ready? I need to go.” Tina said, moving towards the door. While she looked much better than last night, her hands were still twitchy. She hadn’t slept much, which meant that Mom would be driving.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. While we’re there should I say hello to Zeke? He’s staying there too.” Mom said, moving to hug Gene and Louise, and her husband a peck on the head.

 

“Sure, yeah. Just remember to be back by the dinner rush. And Tina, just take a nap or something.” Dad said, standing to get ready, “as for you two, Gene you’ll take your mom’s place and Louise will prep the plates.”

 

    The rest of the day passed in a busy blur. Louise was happy to practice her knife skills, while people watching from the kitchen. Gene worked the front counter like a pro, garnering almost as many tips as requests on his keyboard. Dad had stopped trying to get Gene to just do his job after an hour. She only insisted on taking her break when one Regular Sized Rudy stopped by around the end of the rush.

 

“How’s it going Rudy? Air treating you well?” Louise asked, sitting across the booth from her friend. She had brought him a burger (The Olive what He’s Having) and a glass of lemonade.

 

“Still breathing. It looks like you’re down a few people.” Rudy said, leaning on his elbows.

 

“Mom and Tina are at the hospital so Tina can find her soulmate. And Zeke’s out sick or something.” Louise pulled the plate closer to her so she could reach the fries. It was the unspoken agreement between the two, one of many that had been established since the fourth grade. “I’m pretty sure she’s still hoping that jerk Jimmy Jr.”

 

“Louise, when you’re done those fries I need you back here.” Her dad called from the kitchen.

 

“Okay, Dad, I’ll just finish these one as a time!” Louise responded, slowly chewing the fry in her hand.

 

“Oh my god, Louise. Just get back here soon.” She just smiled back, waving the fry.

 

“Are we still hanging out today? Or will you be too busy? Next weekend will work, I’ll just need to hang around here a bit longer cause Dad’s taking another date to that wine train and- “

 

“Tonight’s still good, Rudy. And you know what? Come over next Saturday too, there’s a sequel we can watch. Besides, my parents like having you around, I think they only keep lemonade on the menu because of you.” Louise smiled at the small flush on her friend’s face. She knew he liked hanging around her family, for whatever reason.

 

“How can there be a sequel to Battle Royale? Isn’t the point that they kill each other?” Rudy asked. It had been Louise’s idea to get Rudy to watch these movies. His mom only allowed him to watch PG content, and only after she approved the movie.

 

“You’ll just have to watch and see.” Louise said with a smirk, before finishing the last fry on the plate. “Now you wait at the counter, Gene will probably annoy you, so you can talk to me through the window.”

 

   Louise had first proposed these Saturday movie nights after hearing Rudy mention being grounded after his mom found out about the _Again with the Living Dead?_ incident. She had felt twinges of guilt, with a determined resolution to expose her Regular Sized friend to as many movies as she could. They had started with the _Jurassic Park_ movies, only managing to get through the original three after nine months. Eventually, they had come up with a schedule that allowed Rudy to come over the weekends his Dad went on dates. This routine meant Rudy coming over, eating a burger while Louise at the fries, and Rudy talking her parents into helping around the restaurant.

 

“My lunch is my pay.” He would insist, easing her parents guilt over free child labour. At least, child labour that didn’t come from their own kids.

 

   The rest of the afternoon passed exactly like the others. Minus her Mom’s antics, Tina’s occasional mumbles, and Zeke’s chatter as he worked with their Dad. It was also the only Saturday her Dad didn’t protest Rudy’s volunteering. While many hands made short work, they were still down three people. Which meant that Louise couldn’t chat with Rudy as much as she wanted, as he had taken up busing tables and serving the food. Her mom and Tina didn’t come home until four. Tina just went straight to her room.

 

“Lin, what happened? She did find her soulmate? God, I thought this wouldn’t happen until later.” Their father paused at the grill to greet his wife, who only nodded.

 

“She found him alright. She’s a little confused right now. I told her I would let her tell everyone after we close, now pour me a cup of coffee, and I’ll get my apron.” Mom said, bustling behind the counter. “Hello Rudy, is it another movie night already? I hope you don’t mind the distractions.”

 

“It’s okay, Mrs. Belcher. It’s better than the Juice Caboose.” Rudy replied, also polite. Louise rolled her eyes, not matter how many times Mom insisted he call her Linda or Mama B. The argument always ended the same, with Rudy giving in for a little bit before going back to calling her ‘Mrs. Belcher’.

 

“Can’t you tell us anything, Mom?” Louise begged, chopping the onions her Dad had asked for.

 

“Yeah, I waited all day to hear the juicy details. I need to know!” Gene shouted, he had been placed on dish duty once their mom had gotten back.

 

“Kids, if Tina wants to wait, then we’ll wait. I need you to focus on the dinner rush, which means finishing the dishes and prepping the vegetables.” Dad never took his focus from the grill. Louise wanted answers, but she also wanted her allowance.

   She let herself get lost in the flow of work. She really liked using knifes, and was happy to be left to cutting the topping and mashing the olives. It let her think about the situation more than her tired brain could last night, something they had all put off until now. Not even Teddy and Mort got much out of Dad when they were here. Louise knew this was bound to happen eventually. Tina had been waiting for this day since forever, and while deep down she was happy for her sister, something was bothering her.

 

   Having her family around her all the time was normal, her friends too. She couldn’t remember the last time she didn’t have her siblings, Rudy, or the Pesto Twins by her side. Even Zeke, to some extent, had become someone she liked having around. This soulmate stuff only meant that eventually they’d become too busy to spend time with her. Louise didn’t want them to miss out, she didn’t want them to become like Rudy’s dad. She just didn’t want the people around her to leave her behind. Shaking off the unwanted surge of emotion, Louise snapped back into finishing out the rest of the day.

 

****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****    ****   

 

   Tina was in her room when they went up. Showers were taken and clothes changes before her parents gathered everyone into living room with a quick dinner of eggs and slightly burnt toast. Rudy had tried to leave when it became clear a family meeting was happening. Louise had firmly pushed a plate of food into his hands and steered him onto the couch.

 

“I’m going to need this movie night to decompress. Besides, do you really want to risk walking in on your Dad’s date?” It had been enough to convince Rudy into sticking around. She wouldn’t say it, but Louise was grateful he stayed.

 

“Everyone, as you know last night I got my mark. It told me that me that my soulmate was in the hospital, which is where I was today. And while I was there, I searched all over for the person I’m destined to be with for the rest of my life.” Tina paused dramatically, looking around the room.

 

“Alright Tina, get to the point.” Louise snarked, earning a grumble from her father, and gentle poke from Rudy.

 

“I found him in a room on his own. His family had just left for the day after dropping off some things. And, uh, we talked for a while. We even had hospital pudding. Kind of lumpy. We’re going on a proper date when he’s out of the hospital and I promised I would bring him his homework.”

 

“Who is it? Do we know who he is? It’s not Jimmy Jr. I saw him this afternoon.” Gene was practically bouncing on the other side of Louise.

 

“It’s Zeke, okay. My soulmate is Zeke.” Tina was looking at her hands. Cheeks flushed and eyes shut, waiting for the reactions to the revelation. They sat like that for a solid minute before Louise heard her dad mumbled ‘oh my god’. That broke the silence, starting with Louise’s laughter. Soon, everyone was laughing, and everything was back to almost normal.

 

   Her parents and Tina went off into the kitchen to talk more after that. Gene bounced around the rooms, while Louise and Rudy sat on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watched the movie.

 

“What are the odds that your parents hired your sister’s soulmate” Rudy asked as the students in the movie were gassed on the bus.

 

   Louise smacked his arm, “Rudy! You got to pay attention, it’s all subtitles.” It was a playful tease. Something that was normal. “But honestly, I think it fits Tina whole destiny thing.”

 

   Turns out Zeke had his appendix removed. That meant Tina went to the hospital four days in a row. The anxiety Louise had felt over her world changing subsided, as a new routine was carved out. Tina and Zeke started hanging out more at school, something that wasn’t strange, but seeing her sister comfortable around a guy without trying to awkwardly get their attention was the strange part. But at that moment, sitting next to her best friend, watching an overly violent movie, everything felt okay. Everyone was still here.

 

   The new routine continued like that. Shifting only as Tina graduated and move on to studying part-time at the local community college with Zeke. Both studying something different, but continuing their oddly well-balanced relationship. Things were great, until the day Tina announced she was planning to move out, and Gene had stood up wave his newly marked arm in their faces.

 


End file.
